Speaker Mark Eves, D-North Berwick, announced on Thursday his "Ticket to Work" bill, which would ensure that Temporary Assistance For Needy Families recipients receive the tools and training necessary to enter the workforce and secure long-term employment.

Eves' bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services to provide a comprehensive assessment for TANF recipients to identify the skills they need to prepare to work and move off welfare.

It also directs the department to transition TANF recipients with severe disabilities and barriers to work from the state program to the federally funded Supplemental Security Program, reducing the cost to the state.

Eves says Maine's anti-poverty programs need to work better.

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